Socks, gloves, ladies underwear — almost anything left unattended was fair game for the thief, especially the knickers, and the rate of offending was getting worse.

But now the culprit has been unmasked as a kleptomaniac cat with a generous nature. Eager to please his new owners, Peter and Birgitt Weismantel, 13-year-old Oscar had been bringing home presents to the family home in Portswood.

“He started bringing socks home a few months ago and then gardening gloves which we tracked to our neighbour,” his owner Peter Weismantel said. “Then we had a situation in which he brought back young women’s underwear,” said Peter, 72. “It began to escalate and I telephoned the police as people must have been missing clothes — especially with women’s underwear being taken.”

The couple have been fostering Oscar from Southampton’s Cats Protection charity since Christmas. Since then he had also pinched builder’s gloves, a knee-pad, a paint roller, rubber gloves, and 10 pairs of children’s underpants.

On an average he commits 10 robberies a day.

“He brings them back as presents,” Birgitt said. “We can’t give him back now as he makes such an effort with all these gifts. He’s got a lovely personality and is a very loving cat.” Now the couple will adopt Oscar full time but they still have yet to devise a way to curb his criminal instincts.“He’s still doing it now,” said Peter. “We are thinking of training him as Fagin!”